Lighting-fixture.



M. W. SINGER & D. WOGDHEAD.

LIGHTING FIXTURE.

non man nov I9 A APPLI ,1913. A 1,150,894. Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

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MARVIN W. SINGER'OF CHICAGO, AND DANIEL woonnnan, or EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

` Herinner-FIXTURE.

masses 1 known that we, MARVIN W. SINGER, residingatChicago, in the county of Cook land State 'of Illinois,fand Damian Woon- HEAD, 'residing at Evanstom'i'n the same county and State, both citizens of the United- States, have invented a certain new and usefull Improvement in Lighting-Fixtures, of which the following isa specification'. 1

invention relates to electric lighting fixtures, particularly for passenger cars l-and'oth'er situations, where the fixtures are trically splicethese /wires yto the fixture wires, subsequently replacing the insulation and flnally slippinga `loose canopy up to the ceiling to 'coverup' the unsightly connections. This usually involvesl overhead work and in many cases requires the simultaneous efforts of at least two men, one holding the fixture while the other makes the electrical connection.

The object of our invention is to avoid these difficulties and inconveniences and to provide a construction such that the electrical connections may be made by a single operator without assistance, after the fixture is hung in place, and also to render it possible to accomplish a neat and workmanlike job and incidentally a connection which may be made and re-made as many times as desired without damaging the ends of the wires.

It is also our object to provide means for definitely holding the ends of the wires and insulating them from surrounding objects.

We accomplish our objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a general side elevation of a fixture embodying our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section ofthe `fixture and connections taken on the line 2--2, Fig. 8. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan section taken on the line 3-3, Fig. 2.

ywhich the feed wires 3 pass.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patenfgd Aug, 24 191-5 f 4implication filed' November 19, 1913i Serial-NO. 801,802. i

senger car construction wehave elected to show the invention 1n connection with a car roof.t lnY the dra-wings, the lower panel ofthe cary roof 1 has an openingI 2fthrough Beneath the outer opening 2 i'sfastened a plate et consist- Aing usually of metal. y It is secured to the car roof by screws 5l or other suitable fastening devices. The pending parts of the fixture may assume various forms, the present design showing three arms 6 supporting a bowl or shade 7. In the illustration shown infFi-g. 1, the bowl is inverted and contains the lamp 8 on the inside, thus producing what is known as indirect light-ing. The shape and arrangement of the bowl or shade, however, are immaterial.

In `the design selected to illustrate the invention, the ceiling plate is circular in outline and dished in such manner that it contacts/with the car roof at'its periphery, but at its central portion affords space for the terminal plate'9'. rlhis plate is preferably located symmetrically under the outlet opening 2 inthe car.' roof and consists of slate,

' tom, preferably in the center, directly beneath the outlet opening 2. A cover 10 is provided for normally holding this opening closed, the cover being removably held in place by screws 11 or other convenient fastening means.

In the most desirable form of the invention, the terminal plate carries four binding posts 12, 1S, 14 and 15. These posts are connected in pairs by any suitable conductors 16, 17. The conductors 16, 17 are located on top or back of the plate while the heads of the terminals are on the bottom where they are accessible through the opening 4a of the ceiling plate. The feed wires 3 are led down through an aperture 9l in the terminal plate and hence their ends are in convenient position to be connected to and disconnected from one pair of binding posts, 14, 15. The fixture wires 18 are passed preferably down through one of the arms 6 to the lamp 8 as shown at the left part of Fig. 2. An eyelet 19 of insulating material is provided in the ceiling plate 4. in convenient position so that the ends of said wires may be connected to the lower end of the remaining binding posts, 12, 18. Thus it will be seen that the loose ends both of the feed wires and of the fixture wires can be attached to the binding posts on the lower side of the terminal plate where convenient access is afforded to the electrician. As a result, a single electrician,

unassisted, may make all the connections simply with the aid of a screw driver.

In operation, the ceiling plate 4 carrying with it the terminal plate 9 and pendent parts of the fixture including the arms 6, bowl 7 and lamp 8 and fixture wires 18 is secured to the car roof by any ordinary mechanic. The jumper wires 16, 17 have been previously set in place and the ends of the feed wires 3 will be fished through the terminal plate before the ceiling plate is finally fastened. When the electric connections are to be made, the electrician simply passes the ends of the fixture wires 18 up through the eyelet 19 and fastens the ends to the binding posts 12, 13. He also connects the ends of the feed wires 3 to the binding posts 14, 15. This, it will be noted, can easily be done through the central aperture 4 in the ceiling plate Vand nothing more than an ordinary screw driver is required. As soon as these connections of the feed wires and the fixture wires to the respective binding osts are completed, the fixture is ready or use. The electrician vthen fastens the cover 10 in place and the work is finished.

The operation of connecting the feed wires and fixture wires is so simple that the lskill of an electrician is hardly required.

No soldering or wrapped joints are necessary and the work may easily be done b a 4 workman having little knowledge of electricity. As the terminal plate 9 supports all the terminal connections and holds them at a distance from the surrounding objects, the construction is a very safe one and prac- 4 tically eliminates the danger of short circuits or crossed wires. Another advan of our construction lies in the fact that t e connections may be inspected at an time by simply removing the cover 10. t will be noted that in our construction the weight of the fixture is carried by the roof itself and not by any conduit or feed wire pip as is frequently the case in lighting fixture*` constructlon.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a lighting fixture, the combination of.

a downwardly dished ceiling plate, pendent go parts secured to said plate, a terminal block of insulating material located in the dished portion of said plate, binding osts mounted in said terminal plate an electrically tf' connected together in pairs, the heads of g5 the binding posts being located on the under side of the 'terminal plate for connection to the feed and fixture wires, said ceiling plate an aperture near the binding posts havin for a ording access to them.

In witness whereof we have hereunto Subscribed our names in the presence of two witnesses.

MARVIN W. SINGER. DANIEL WOODHEAD. Witnesses:

G. M. Cox, Erm L. WHITE.

Copies of this patentmay be obtained for ave cents each, by addressing the Uommiuioler ot Intenta,

' Washington, D. C. 

